Open Letter Urging for Waste Recycling was Sent to Yerevan Municipality and European Institution

On 4th of December 2017 a letter calling for including waste recycling component in the new landfill construction project was sent to Yerevan Municipality, Armenia’s Government, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and several other European institutions. The letter was joined by many organizations, initiatives and individuals.

According to the agreement signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2015, Yerevan Municipality plans to build a new landfill, where waste recycling component, however, is missing. The project is funded with grants and loans by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and several other European institutions. It is planned to construct landfills in Yerevan as well as in nearby regions.

According to information provided by the European Investment Bank, the Yerevan Solid Waste Project concerns the construction of a sanitary landfill, closure of the existing unsanitary landfill and the implementation of waste diversion measures in the capital of Armenia and surrounding regions, serving a population of 1.9 million. The project is co-financed by a EUR 8 million EBRD loan with a EUR 1.9 million technical assistance grant, a EUR 8 million grant from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF), a EUR 2m grant from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency Environment Partnership (E5P) and a EUR 0.5m grant from the Municipal Project Support Facility (MPSF). The EIB is expected to provide up to EUR 14.6 million to support the project, depending on the financial needs to be identified by the procurement plan, with a first tranche of EUR 8 million loan signed in 2015 in support for the first phase of the project.

Although this project has a waste diversion component that may include separate collection equipment, recycling centres, material recovery facility and composting facility, the scope of this component is still under discussion with the Municipality of Yerevan.

Therefore we – citizens of Armenia, individuals, initiatives and organizations concerned with waste recycling, call on Yerevan municipality, Armenia’s government and all funders of this project to include the component of waste sorting and recycling in this and other landfill construction projects in Armenia, as well as to include the component of energy generation from landfill gasses, this way taking Armenia through greener and more sustainable path. After all economic benefits of this step cannot be measured only by direct financial incomes, since protection of health, prevention of pollution of water, air and soil and other long-term strategies are economically and socially more vital.